Coaches: Directive a good move

Monday

Feb 11, 2013 at 12:01 AM

TUSCALOOSA | Allison Gabriel was born with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that inhibits mental and physical development. But that didn’t stop her from being an athlete.As a senior at Northridge High School last year, Gabriel was a guard on the girls basketball team. In the spring, she helped out as a manager for the girls tennis team.

By Zackary Al-KhateebSpecial to The Tuscaloosa News

TUSCALOOSA | Allison Gabriel was born with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that inhibits mental and physical development. But that didn’t stop her from being an athlete.As a senior at Northridge High School last year, Gabriel was a guard on the girls basketball team. In the spring, she helped out as a manager for the girls tennis team.“I think you need to look at each individual separately and decide what they bring to the table,” said John Cain, head coach for the Jaguars’ basketball and tennis teams. “While there may have been people that had more skill, there was no one in this school that I thought exemplified the fighting spirit of being to overcome anything more than Allison did. To me, that was invaluable just to have her on the team to be an example to the other girls every day.”Gabriel, who graduated last year, moved on to Shelton State Community College, where she is a manager for the nationally ranked women’s basketball team. Gabriel’s is a story of success for student-athletes who are disabled. Now, the U.S. Department of Education has issued a federal directive providing disabled student-athletes with the same opportunity Gabriel had. The guidelines advise schools to provide equal opportunities for disabled students to join athletic teams, or to provide them opportunities to participate in athletics.Athletics directors and coaches throughout the Tuscaloosa county and city school systems generally share the view that the directive will mean good things for their athletic programs. And although numerous coaches say they have seen minimal interest from disabled student-athletes, they said they already provide those opportunities.Central High School head football coach Dennis Conner said he appreciated the sentiment of the directive, but didn’t think it would affect him or his team in a major way. Conner said he welcomes all students who come out for the football team, and has a policy of not cutting players regardless of ability.“Any kids that have the qualifications in school, (pass) their physical (exam), get all their permissions signed and they have the grades and all that, I work with them all,” Conner said. “I don’t look at the ability or disability, because they can learn something from being out there with those guys.”Sipsey Valley High principal Dennis Alvarez said athletics shouldn’t be limited to just able-bodied students.“I think it’s just that, it’s an opportunity to be like everyone else,” Alvarez said, “where they are not limited because of their disabilities to not have an opportunity to be a part of the team.”While the coaches and athletics directors generally agree the directive will be beneficial, many are concerned with the logistics of how the guidelines may be implemented and where additional funding to accommodate disabled student-athletes will come from.For Alvarez, the biggest question in fulfilling the Department of Education edict is money.“It very well could be an issue,” Alvarez said. “For example, if you’ve got a legally blind person that wanted to play something where you have to alter the field through anything — sounds, tones or something like that — that cost has got to come from somewhere. Right now in public education, there’s not a whole bunch of money.”Tamela Terry, athletics director at Paul W. Bryant High School, said potential financial issues would be something the schools will have to deal with. Still, Terry said it wouldn’t be too much of an issue at Bryant, where teams are accustomed to raising money.“All of our athletes and our teams have to raise their own money to participate, pay for officials, if they want their uniforms,” Terry said. “We are constantly fundraising, all the time.”Another issue could be the part of the directive advising schools to create separate athletic opportunities for disabled students. If the student is unable to make a team but still wishes to play, the school will be obligated to find another athletic outlet for the student. Many of the schools’ coaches and athletics directors have expressed concern on how to provide those opportunities for a disabled student-athlete, especially if there aren’t enough players to make up a team. Kevin Austin, Sipsey Valley’s head basketball coach, was unsure of how the schools would handle a situation like that.“It could be where you take the whole county and (create a team of students from schools within the system to) compete against other counties,” Austin said. “Once again, it all comes back to all the modifications it’s going to require.”Austin noted how creating those separate athletic departments for disabled student-athletes would put a further strain on already-stretched high school athletic budgets. Austin said he believed many schools would have difficulty in handling the financial burdens that come with creating a potential separate athletic department.Conner shared the same sentiment, saying he would favor minor modifications and rule changes to allow a disabled players onto football teams.“At this point, it’s easier to make modifications,” Conner said. “You might have to stay with the kid. You might have to slow your teaching, do some extra things with them, try to find out the best way to learn.”Of the specific guidelines listed by the directive, the most readily accepted by area coaches and athletic directors is the idea of making small rule changes to accommodate disabled student-athletes. They expressed a willingness to work with the Alabama High School Athletic Association in making those implementations.Kenneth Crowe, head football coach at Holt High School, said providing those modifications is something that schools will simply have to make a reality.“Rules have changed every year, in some aspect, with high school sports,” Crowe said. “What we have to do as coaches or administrators, is get together and brainstorm and come up with the best solution for what’s going to be changing.”

Andrew Carroll contributed to this report.

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